A few weeks ago, I began considering what dish to prepare during the annual Presidents’ Day festivities held this past Monday at the Israel Crane House. Before long, it hit me: a Washington Cake! It’s perfect for a day that celebrates, at least in part, the birthday of the man who led us to victory [...]
Archive for the ‘historic cookbooks’ Category
perfect treat for Presidents’ Day: Washington Cake
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic cooking/classes/events, historic receipts (recipes), Israel Crane House, tagged 19th century foods, cake, pearlash, Presidents' Day, spicy fruit cake, The Israel Crane House, Washington Cake on February 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
presenting…the Potato Pumpkin!
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic cooking/classes/events, historic receipts (recipes), Israel Crane House, tagged forcemeat aka stuffing/dressing, Hannah Glasse, historic meat dishes, Mary Randoplh, mincing, potato pumpkin, The Art of Cookery (1747), The Virginia Housewife (1824), veal and suet on February 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
As we’ve seen in the past few posts, a wide array of dishes was offered to those who visited The Israel Crane House during the 2011 annual Essex County (NJ) Historic Holiday House Tour. So far, we’ve reviewed everything from Apees to Gingerbread Cakes to a Minced Pie. Now, to complete our culinary tour, we [...]
meat dishes for Crane’s
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic cooking/classes/events, historic receipts (recipes), Israel Crane House, tagged 17th century receipt, Essex County (NJ) Holiday Historic House Tour, Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, meat pies, minced meat pie, The Israel Crane House, veal & suet on February 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In addition to a tasty store-bought smoked ham, we had two other historic meat dishes on hand to share with visitors to The Israel Crane House during this past December’s Essex County (NJ) Historic Holiday House Tour. Naturally, they were two of my favorites: a Minced (meat) Pie; and a Potato Pumpkin. I’ll deal first [...]
Apees: the receipt
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking/classes/events, Israel Crane House, tagged 75 Receipts for Pastry Cakes and Sweetmeats, annual Essex County (NJ) Holiday Historic Houses Tour, apees, carraway seeds, Conner Prairie, early 19th C foods, Eliza Leslie, small cakes on January 24, 2012 | 6 Comments »
As mentioned previously, I made small cakes known as “Apees” this past month for use at the Israel Crane House during the annual Essex County (NJ) Holiday Historic House Tour. They seemed to be a big hit with all the folks who came to visit, as there were no leftovers. HUZZAH! Here’s the receipt (recipe) [...]
Yorkshire pud II
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic receipts (recipes), jolly ol' England, research & experiments, tagged British foodways, historic cookbooks, historic receipts, The Cook's Oracle (1817), William Kitchiner M.D., Yorkshire pud, Yorkshire Pudding on November 21, 2011 | 7 Comments »
Okay. Back to my Yorkshire Pudding experiment. Sorry for the delay. Although, you didn’t miss too much, as I only did one other! Now, as you may recall (or not!), I used an 18th century receipt (recipe) for the previous pudding (from Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery). I decided to jump ahead a few [...]
receipts: pumpkin pud & apple tarts
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic cooking/classes/events, historic site, Israel Crane House, tagged Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, Apple Tarts, apples, historic cookbooks, historic receipts (recipes), Israel Crane House, Montclair Historical Society (MHS), pompkin, Pompkin Pudding on November 14, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Here are the receipts (recipes) for the pumpkin pudding and the apple tarts that I made recently at the Israel Crane House. Both are from Amelia Simmons’ book American Cookery (1796). As I mentioned previously, the fillings for each were cooked down ahead of time. I used a basic pie crust, as well, rather than [...]
fall treats: Pompkin Pudding and Apple Tarts
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic cooking/classes/events, historic receipts (recipes), Israel Crane House, tagged Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, Apple Tarts, hearth cooking, historic dishes, open fire cooking, Pompkin Pudding, The Israel Crane House on November 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This past Sunday, I was once again cooking at the hearth of the Israel Crane House over in Montclair, NJ. Despite our recent Halloween snow storm and the lack of much color on this area’s trees, it IS still fall! So I made these season-appropriate dishes from American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons: a Pompkin [...]
another experiment: Yorkshire puddings!
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic receipts (recipes), jolly ol' England, research & experiments, tagged British foods, Hannah Glasse, historic receipts (recipes), The Art of Cookery (1747), Yorkshire pud, Yorkshire Pudding on October 24, 2011 | 2 Comments »
It’s not too difficult to locate a receipt (recipe) for Yorkshire pudding in historic (1840s or earlier) British cookbooks. There are even a few in early American works, as well. At the same time, I was rather surprised that there weren’t more, and that, in fact, many of the English books that I consulted (those [...]
shrub!
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic receipts (recipes), tagged American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Lydia Maria Child, non-alcoholic strub receipt (recipe), raspberry shrub, shrub on July 19, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Shrub is another alcoholic beverage that, like punch, was highly popular in past centuries, particularly the 18th and early 19th. It’s similar to the punches of that time, as well, for it makes use of fruit juice and spirits. According to The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), a shrub is: 1. A prepared drink made with [...]
yo-ho-ho, rum punch…Part II
Posted in historic cookbooks, historic cooking, historic receipts (recipes), tagged Ben Franklin punch, Eliza Leslie, historic rum punch receipt, rum, rum milk punch on July 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Any special occasion was excuse enough to serve punch…. So says Richard J. Hooker, author of Food and Drink in America, A History (1981). Yes, bowls of punch frequently graced many a table during the 18th and early 19th centuries in America, particularly those of the upper class. Of course, it could be made with [...]


